


Remember, Repair, Renew

by Owl_Be_Writing



Series: If Elliott Had Been There- A Season Six Rewrite [14]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-03 06:11:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16320638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owl_Be_Writing/pseuds/Owl_Be_Writing
Summary: Emma meets the new principal at McKinley, Oliver Heston.Part of the Leaving The Liars In Lima universe.





	Remember, Repair, Renew

**Author's Note:**

> Be sure to read my author's notes below, for a link to a YouTube video of the song used, and a bit of an explanation for this story.

 Emma cheerfully sang Capital Cities' 'Safe And Sound' quietly to herself as she figured out how to best display her newly printed pamphlets.

 

_~You could be my luck_

_Even if the sky is falling down_

_I know that we'll be safe and sound~_

 

 A soft knock made her jump.

 She turned to see a middle-aged man, left hand knuckles on the door frame.

 "...Gordon Ramsay?" she asked, bewildered.

 He raised an eyebrow. "Um," he said, in a decidedly _American_ midwestern accent, "no."

 She blushed, humiliated. "Oh," she cried, "Oliver! I'm so sorry!"

He grinned. "So you do remember me!"

 She looked down at her hands, pulled at her fingers. "I do remember you," she said, "I remembered everything when the superintendent said the words, 'vice principal'. ...it doesn't make any sense," she murmured, as she took a seat in her office chair.

 "What doesn't?" he asked, as he sat down in the left chair that faced her desk.

 "That we all, all of us, forgot you existed, Oliver!" Emma's eyes were wide and bright. "Especially me. I don't forget things. I'm...very organized."

 Oliver looked to the side, and back at Emma. "Sue  _did_ hypnotize all of you, Emma, back in 2007. And I had only been working here for a month before she decided I was a problem for her," he stated, voice practical.

 "Hypnotism doesn't work that way," Emma protested, "it's not a...it's not a magic spell!"

 He shrugged. "What do you want me to say?" He tilted his head slightly. "From what I've heard, and what I remember from my short time here earlier, it wouldn't be the only thing relating to Sue that doesn't make any fucking sense."

 Emma blanched slightly. A thought then occurred to her, a question she ought to ask.

 "Is your family okay? Did she ever...?"

 He shook his head. "She was, shockingly, good on her word. I stayed in hiding, she never hurt my family. And she threw her whole network under the bus after she got arrested, so there's no one left around who could do a little...follow-up. We still have a security system, just in case."

 "That's good." She didn't really know what to say about all of that. What Oliver Heston went through, what he to some extent was still going through, was awful. She ought to change the subject. She did have another question about something else. "Do you know how it was that the superintendent remembered you?" she asked. "I, uh," she blushed again, "I didn't have the nerve to ask him."

 "He overheard a kid ask another kid if the vice principal takes over if something happens to the principal, when he was at McKinley to inform you that you were to take on the principal's duties until he hired a new one," he answered. "And, just like you, he remembered everything when he heard the words 'vice principal'." He squinted. "Add that to the list of Sue things that don't make any fucking sense- why pick such an obvious trigger phrase, and how did no one hear that phrase spoken in seven years?" He shrugged again.

 Emma shook her head. "Makes no sense at all."

 Oliver frowned as he crossed his arms and looked towards the ceiling.

 Emma, after a moment where they each contemplated the impossibility of Sue, because he had been right when he said her super-hypnotism wasn't the only way her existence stretched credulity, broke the silence when she asked, "So, why are you here? In my office, I mean."

 He returned his gaze to her, grinned, unfolded his arms, clasped his hands, and leaned forward. "Three reasons," he began. "First is that I want to meet everyone, and talk to them, because a principal should know his faculty, and his faculty should know him."

 Emma's eyebrows lifted in mild surprise. "That's a change from...the last two administrations, actually." She knew that Sue hadn't even bothered to learn most of the faculty's names, but even Figgins had been a bit...inattentive.

 "Yeah," he nodded, "I got that impression from Figgins in the brief time I was here. Not _completely_ surprised no one fought for him when Sue began destroying his life. Which is still disappointing, though." He paused. "To be fair, you were all afraid of Sue, weren't you?"

 Tenured or not, yes, she'd been terrified. "A bit," she answered out loud.

 "Anyway," Oliver said, as he shifted in his seat, "the second reason is, I'm looking for your support in particular, for my...campaign."

 "Campaign?" she asked, with a slight frown.

 "Anti-bullying campaign." His expression turned more resolute. "I want to make that a major focus as principal. And there's a lot of work to do, because Figgins' lack of action and Sue's goddamned  _encouragement_ of it has made McKinley a toxic environment."

 "Anti-bullying campaign?" After living under Sue's reign, Emma could scarcely believe what she was hearing.

 "Yep. And I need the help of my counselor for it to be a success." He smiled hopefully. "You with me, Emma?"

 With zero hesitation, she exclaimed, "Of course! I'd love to! That's a wonderful idea. I never thought I'd ever get the opportunity to work on such a project."

 "Excellent!" He clapped, then let out a little laugh. "Hey," he quipped, "maybe when the students are finally living in a healthy mental environment, the grades will reach the levels Sue fudged the numbers to be."

 Emma let out her own little laugh. "Maybe."

 His expression turned more serious again. "And the third thing."

 She quickly sombered as well. "The third thing?" she asked.

 His tone was very matter-of-fact, in juxtaposition to what he said next. "Sue boobytrapped the principal's office. Nearly lost an eye."

 Emma's mouth dropped open in shock. "Oh, my goodness."

 He sighed. "Yeah. So, I want you, with your impeccable attention to detail and awareness of danger, to help me in finding and dismantling all the little contraptions she left behind to maim whoever took her place."

 Hesitantly, Emma suggested, "Shouldn't we leave that to law enforcement, or something?"

 He raised an eyebrow. "The same law enforcement," Oliver drawled, "that somehow completely missed these traps when they were combing the office for evidence against Sue?"

 "Ah," she said, quietly, as she looked at her hands, "right."

 "We need to take care of this ourselves, Emma," stated Oliver, as he got up from his seat and stretched. "And when my office is done, we better check out the vice principal's office, too, before the new vp goes in and gets their hand chopped off."

 Emma bit her lip and nodded. "Yes," she agreed, "it would make sense for her to have rigged traps there, too, since she set traps in the principal's office."

 "At least some things make sense."

 She paused. "My 'impeccable attention to detail and awareness of danger'?" she questioned. "...you mean my OCD?"

 He smiled warmly. "Most things come with both negatives and positives, Emma. My ADHD has made my life harder in a _lot_ of ways, but I've always gotten a lot done when the hyperfocus kicks in." He lifted his hands in a shrug. "I'd rather not have it, but there are a few rare benefits. I do take Adderall, but that only tempers it so much. I'll bet you know how that is."

 She looked at him, nodded. "Yes," she confirmed, solemnly, "yes, I do."

 "Okay," he clapped again, "are you free after school today to get started on helping me de-trap the offices?"

 "Oh! Um..." She thought for a moment. She'd need to tell Will she'd be late for dinner, but they had nothing special planned. And Will had proved himself very capable of taking care of the baby on his own. ...oh, she'd better call the nanny after Oliver leaves, make sure everything is alright. Was it too soon to call? It was only 9 AM. It was probably too soon. Maybe at 11. Oliver needed an answer. "Yes!" she answered with a bright smile, "Definitely."

 "Excellent," he said with a grin. He walked to the door, and then turned slightly and told her, "I'm going to get back to meeting everyone. You were first, the kitchen staff is next. I heard Sue was extra awful to them."

 "She was," confirmed Emma. "Good luck."

 "Thanks. See you after school, Emma." He gave a little salute.

 She smiled. "See you, Oliver."

 A moment after he left, she got up and resumed her organization of her pamphlets.

 

_~Even in a hurricane of frowns_

_I know that we'll be safe and sound~_

**Author's Note:**

> Song in this chapter- [Safe And Sound](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47dtFZ8CFo8) by Capital Cities
> 
> The student the superintendent overheard asking about a vice principal was Kahula, talking to Kitty.
> 
> Here is why this story exists- I really didn't want Will Schuester to be principal. I do not trust him to do a good job. Glee club is really the only thing he cares about, besides Emma and his kid.
> 
> So, who to make principal instead? My initial idea was to make Emma the principal, but I rethought that because I think she's better suited as a counselor, and her life is stressful enough for her without the added stress of administrating a large school.
> 
> Then, I realized something. Where was the vice principal at McKinley? My high school had a vice principal, and it was definitely a smaller school than McKinley is. I'd say at least half the size. (I understand why Glee and basically every other show/movie set in a school doesn't include a vice principal; it complicates the writing.)(Still lazy.)
> 
> That decided who would be the new principal. A previously unknown vice principal. Now, why were they gone? That was easy for me- Sue got rid of them because they were in her way. Glee already established that she somehow had super-hypnotism powers, so why everyone forgot the vice principal existed was easy to answer.
> 
> A big part of the reason Sue wanted Oliver gone was because of his strong stance against bullying. It was affecting her and her cheerleaders. She also suspected he was about to uncover her encouragement of eating disorders among her Cheerios. He also impeded her ability to manipulate principal Figgins.
> 
> Why is he 'portrayed' by Gordon Ramsay? Because a friend of mine suggested it, based on a picture of him standing next to Jane Lynch in Sue's tracksuit in the glee club room. Apparently, the Glee cast were guests on an episode of MasterChef. We are in the weirdest timeline.


End file.
